Courtesy/ABC

The hit nighttime soap, Revenge continues to astonish and captivate its millions of viewers.  And,  hot on the heels of its renewal pick-up by ABC for a second season, the series kicks into high gear tonight with its second to last episode of season one!

In the episode titled, “Grief”:  A painful loss forges a stronger bond between Emily and Jack, Victoria forms a new alliance that could seal Conrad’s fate, and Charlotte sets out on a vendetta of her own with Declan as her target! Dont miss it tonight, Wednesday May 16 10PMEST/PST.

Now after the jump watch the preview for tonight’s episode!  And what do you think will happen after taking a sneak peek at this trailer?  Let us know! We can’t wait for the season ending cliffhanger in next week’s season finale!

Courtesy/NBC

If you have seen yesterday and today’s episode of Days of our Lives, Will Horton finally came out to his parents, Lucas and Sami! And in the key and emotionally impactful scenes; Chandler Massey (Will), Bryan Dattilo (Lucas) and Alison Sweeney (Sami) delivered believable performances, none more touching than the Daytime Emmy nominated, Massey!

Kudos also go the former DAYS head writing team of Marlene McPherson and Darrell Ray Thomas for showing the audience  Sami, Lucas, and Will’s point of view, and addressing what parents fear for their child when they come out and how they each grappled with the news.  The scenes also deal with Will’s internal struggle and fear of coming out to his parents.   And, that is just for starters!  A lot of important points were made throughout the dialog.

Watch the video of the scenes and the performances after the jump, and then let us know what you thought of the performances, the writing, and if you reached for the hankies, like we did!

Courtesy/ABC

There are so many storylines going into the presentation of the 39th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards on June 23rd that could give an emotional wallop to the proceedings.  One is that of the final nomination for a performance so rich and with so much history, that you almost want to hand this woman an Emmy for her body of work.  We are talking about previous Daytime Emmy winner, Debbi Morgan.

In the final year of the canceled All My Children, Morgan was handed another storyline worthy of her talents in her role as Dr Angie Hubbard, and because of that, her name was called last week when this year’s Daytime Emmy nominees for Lead Actress were announced.  In a heartfelt interview with On-Air On-Soaps, Debbi discusses her Emmy nominated work, the disappointment of AMC leaving network television and not finding a new home, her last conversation with Agnes Nixon, and what it has been like for her taking on her latest role as Harmony on The Young and the Restless.  A true daytime gem, here’s Debbi!

What a nice button on an amazing run as Dr. Angie Hubbard on All My Children.  On the heels of the cancellation of the iconic show, you scored a Lead Actress nomination.  How do you feel about getting the nod?  And, what scenes did you submit that got you into the final round?

DEBBIE:  It is so bittersweet getting the nomination.  What I submitted was the episode of when Angie finds out that her baby died and Jesse takes her to the grave site where he has buried her.

Was the decision to go with that episode a “no-brainer” for you?

Courtesy/ABC

DEBBIE:  You know what?  All I remember was those scenes were so gut-wrenching and difficult, because those are the scenes where you just have to hope that they get it on the first take.  Because to repeat all of that again is difficult, and you just want it to be fresh and be in the moment.  Whenever you are outside and dealing with the elements and not in that controlled environment, like you are when you are in the studio, things happen.  And we had to do that scene two or three times.  It was tortuous!  So I said, “Well, damn.  I deserve an Emmy for this!” (Laughs)  I may not get one, but I damn well deserve one! (Laughs)

When you have those big emotional knockout moments on the soaps, I call it “Doing a Debbi Morgan!”  We watch your whole body get into those huge pay-off revelations in your storylines.  It is so gut-wrenching to see you do that, but amazing!   You know, you have done that many times over throughout your career.

DEBBIE: (Laughs) Yeah, but the thing about it was that Lorraine Broderick was back and she was writing All My Children at that time with Agnes Nixon.  And those scenes were just so beautifully written.  It just makes me so sad, because I think we would be in a different place here if she had been on board much, much earlier.  There were so many variables involved, but towards the end of AMC’s run, the writing was just really wonderful.

Courtesy/ABC

And then we had the final episodes of All My Children, which unfortunately left things hanging, when in the end Pine Valley would not find a new home on the web.

DEBBIE:  Yes. Even our send-off could have been so much better.  At the very end, there were so many stories that could have been tied up in a great and special way, but I guess with all the talk looking like All My Children was going to move online, it really tied their hands.  It was just heartbreaking!

It was really disconcerting, Debbi, attending the final press junkets of All My Children and One Life to Live and speaking with the cast members, who were thinking, or were led to believe, their shows would be continuing online within months!  If only everyone knew the real story, we could have had some even more meaningful moments between the press and the actors to deliver to the fans.  Something with closure and a special bow on it, instead of it being left open only for it all to evaporate!

DEBBIE:  That was really awful.   I remember the day we finished the show on August 30th of last year.  A month later, I gave Agnes Nixon a call to just say “Hello” and to see how she was doing.  Agnes said, “I am glad you did not call me a week or so ago.  I am barely getting myself out of bed.”   I thought to myself, “Oh, my God.”   But she then went on to say, “I am finally getting it together.  I am writing a book about my whole experience at All My Children.”   She said that she finally had something to get up for.

Have you talked to Darnell Williams and congratulated him on his nomination for Lead Actor for his work on AMC?

Photo Credit: Kathy Hutchins

DEBBIE:  As a matter of fact, we just finished having a scene together.  He just left work here at Y&R as he finished early for the day.  We gave each other big hugs.  I had not seen Darnell in a while.  It was good to see him and I am thrilled that he was nominated.

Jesse and Angie were the perfect storm!  Everyone in the viewing audience loved Jesse and Angie.  Why do you think they became such an iconic couple?

DEBBIE:  It started off on day one.  You had this guy from the wrong side of the tracks and the good girl, and she just saw qualities in him that nobody else did.   She saw his heart, instead of all of the exteriors.  So because he had felt so unloved and had gone through so much, it was like his outward demeanor was his protection.  Angie saw through that.  She penetrated through to his heart.  Even though when they were teenagers, her parents did not want to her to have anything to do with him.  It was like the fans saw this true love and were supporting and fighting along with them to be together.  Then, they finally get together and they have this beautiful love story, and then Jesse is killed!  I think for Darnell and I, it’s so hard to believe that this existed for so long.  On the one hand, I feel very proud that Darnell and I became this hugely successful couple with the fans, and as an African-American couple.  You didn’t have a lot of us.  That was another reason why we stood out.  You had some others on other show, but I don’t think they really struck a chord the same way as Jesse and Angie did.   I have had people tell me that when the show went off the air, and when Jesse got killed, and then Jesse came back, they just wept.  I have a girlfriend of my mine, the talented actress, Lynn Moody.  And one day, I came home.  This is after Jesse had come back and we had that whole epic train sequence.  That could have been like a film, it was done so well!  So, when I get home, I get this message.  All I hear on the message is somebody sobbing and sobbing and sobbing.  I could not even make out who it was, and finally I heard her saying, “It’s Lynn. Debbie, I am an actress.  I know this is make believe.  But I could not believe I am friggin’ acting like this, but oh, my God!”   And so I called her right back when I heard that, and I said, “Lynn, that was the biggest applause I could have ever gotten.” (Laughs)  But you know, people really, really were touched on such a deep level with this couple.

So now that you and Darnell are both at Y&R, it is my hope that they won’t try to capture lighting in a bottle twice!  Many times on soaps, when actors who have worked together for years as a romantic pairing go to a different soap and are playing totally different characters, the powers-that-be try to pair them together for ratings and familiarity to the audience.  And 99.9% time it doesn’t work!

DEBBIE:  The only thing I can say is; I really hope they do not try to resurrect that on Y&R.  The only thing with us, as actors, is you can go up and express how you feel about certain stories, but in the final hours we are paid to do a job.   It is a very dangerous slope trying to create that kind of magic again.  If these characters become platonic friends it would be good, anything but them becoming lovers.  I would be really disappointed if something like that happened.

Photo Credit: Kathy Hutchins

When we last spoke at the AMC final press junket you were on your way to being at The Young and the Restless and to take on your new role as Harmony.  You were really looking forward to it.  Now having been at Y&R for several months, are you digging Harmony?  Was it all that you thought it would be coming over to the number soap?

DEBBIE:  I miss Angie in a sentimental kind of way.  I miss my All My Children family. Angie is so endearing to me and will always have a special place in my heart.  But with that being said, I played her for so many years that it is so wonderful to step into a new pair of shoes.  I would not have wanted to do a character that was close to Angie, either.   Harmony is so different.  From an actress’s standpoint, I am loving it and having a great time.

Look at Harmony now!  She is sleeping with all sorts of gents.  She is a player!  (Laughs)

DEBBIE:  I know!  That would have never happened with Saint Angie, no! (Laughs) I love Stephen Nichols (Tucker). He is such a doll, and so is Kristoff St. John (Neil)!  I feel like I am having my cake and eating it too.  They are fantastic and fabulous.  I am like, “OK, I don’t care who I jump into bed with! (Laughs)  It’s fine with me.”

I know that the character of Neil is a recovering alcoholic, and Harmony has her addictions.  Do you foresee Y&R handing you the ball and letting you play an addiction storyline, or a descent back into it?

DEBBIE:   They do have that connection from the bad side.   She is not so much alcoholic, but I think it’s the same with her as they said about Whitney Houston.  What happens is when you have any kind of those certain addictions, any time you started drinking or smoking weed or something like that, those things are triggers.  It’s not necessarily that you had a problem with that, but you do something that sort of gradually leads you back into the thing that you did have a problem with.  For Harmony, hers was the crack pipe!  I wish they would let me play that history as an actress.  I don’t know if Maria Arena Bell (executive producer and head writer, Y&R) would want to go down that road, but as an actress, “Oh, I would love that.”   The thing about it is, even if Harmony makes it all the way up to the top, it doesn’t matter, because once an addict, always an addict.  I have known people in my life who have been off drugs for fifteen to twenty years, and then something happens in their life, and bam!  They are right back there.

Photo Credit: Kathy Hutchins

What do you think of the group of ladies you were nominated with for the Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series category?  All deserving, I think.

DEBBIE:  I can say, if Erika Slezak and Laura Wright are in my category, I can go, “Wow! I am in a great group of women.”   I don’t know.  I don’t’ think this is mine.  I think I had a wonderful story, but I have seen some of those actresses when I was looking at the reels.  I saw Crystal Chappell’s work, and the scene she submitted where she is in the hospital bed detoxing, and I went “Oh, my God.”   It’s amazing!

So now you have to pick out a dress for Emmy night.  Is that something you get on right away?   Or, are you a last minute shopper?

DEBBIE:  So many thing start happening beforehand, and when I pick out a dress it’s always towards the last minute.  But I guess, I will go shopping soon, though. (Laughs)  I have a very dear friend of my mine who designed my wedding dress. I might have her throw something together for me. (Laughs)  Whatever the case, I will enjoy the evening and am thrilled to be a part of it.

Courtesy/ABC

Today it became official with the announcement at the ABC Upfront Presentations in New York which shows made into the network’s fall-lineup.  As we have previously reported, Nashville starring Connie Britton, Hayden Panettiere and Jonathan Jackson is a go as is the mob “soap opera-esque” series,  Red Widow.

ABC debuted the series trailers, so we finally have something tangible to view along with all the hype.   And you can watch them after the jump!  But before you do,  here is the series info on Nashville:  Chart-topping Rayna James (Connie Britton) is a country legend who’s had a career any singer would envy, though lately her popularity is starting to wane. Fans still line up to get her autograph, but she’s not packing the arenas like she used to. Rayna’s record label thinks a concert tour, opening for up-and-comer Juliette Barnes (Hayden Panettiere), the young and sexy future of country music, is just what Rayna needs. But scheming Juliette can’t wait to steal Rayna’s spotlight. Sharing a stage with that disrespectful, untalented, little vixen is the last thing Rayna wants to do, which sets up a power struggle for popularity. Could the undiscovered songwriting talent of Scarlett O’Connor (Clare Bowen) be the key to helping Rayna resurrect her career? Complicating matters, Rayna’s wealthy but estranged father, Lamar Hampton (Powers Boothe), is a powerful force in business, Tennessee politics, and the lives of his two grown daughters. His drive for power results in a scheme to back Rayna’s handsome husband, Teddy, in a run for Mayor of Nashville, against Rayna’s wishes. 

Courtesy/ABC

Nashville stars Connie Britton (“Friday Night Lights,” “American Horror Story”) as Rayna, Hayden Panettiere (“Heroes”) as Juliette, Powers Boothe (“MacGruber,” “24″) as Lamar, Charles Esten (“Enlightened,” “Big Love”) as Deacon, Eric Close (“Chaos,” “Without a Trace”) as Teddy, Clare Bowen as Scarlett, Jonathan Jackson (“General Hospital”) as Avery, Sam Palladio as Gunnar and Robert Wisdom as Coleman.  Nashville was written by Callie Khouri (“Thelma & Louise”) who is an executive producer along with R.J. Cutler (“The September Issue,” “The War Room,” “Flip That House,” “A Perfect Candidate”) and Steve Buchanan. The pilot for “Nashville” was directed by R.J. Cutler. The series is produced by Lionsgate, ABC Studios and Gaylord Entertainment.

Here is the series info for Red Widow:  When Marta Walraven’s (Radha Mitchell) husband is brutally murdered, her first instinct is to protect her three young children. Her husband’s business partners – Irwin Petrova (Wil Traval), Marta’s scheming and untrustworthy brother, and Mike Tomlin (Lee Tergesen) — were involved in an illegal drug business deal with rival gangsters, and Marta’s husband paid the ultimate price. She already knows the violent world of organized crime; her father, Andrei Petrova (Rade Sherbedzija), and loyal bodyguard Luther (Luke Goss) are gangsters too. She and her sister Kat (Jaime Ray Newman) had always wished for a safer life without bloodshed and fear. For a while Marta lived happily as a stay at home housewife in San Marta’s cooperation, FBI Agent James Ramos (Mido Hamada) now promises justice.  Marta discovers a tenacity she never knew she had, and takes on the gangsters and the FBI to unveil the truth about her husband’s death. As she digs into this dark underworld, she’ll test her own strength, relying on her resourcefulness, determination and family ties like never before. To get out of this mob, she needs to beat the bad guys at their own deadly game.

Courtesy/ABC

Red Widow stars Radha Mitchell (“Melinda and Melinda,” “Silent Hill,” “Rogue,” “Henry Poll Is Here,” “The Children of Huang Shi,” “The Waiting City”) as Marta Walraven, Wil Traval (“Rescue Special Ops,” “Underbelly,” “All Saints”) as Irwin Petrova, Erin Moriarty (“One Life to Live”) as Natalie Walraven, Sterling Beaumon (“Arthur Newman, Golf Pro, “Clue”) as Gabriel Walraven, Lee Tergesen (“Army Wives”) as Mike Tomlin, Jakob Salvati as Boris Walraven, Mido Hamada as FBI Agent James Ramos, Luke Goss as Luther, Jaime Ray Newman (“Drop Dead Diva”) as Kat Petrova, Suleka Mathew (“Hawthorne”) as Dina Tomlin and Rade Serbedzija (“24″) as Andrei Petrova.

Photo Credit: Kathie Hutchins

On this week’s CBS promo for The Young and the Restless, several storylines are highlighted.  First, Victor screams at Nikki, “You with Jack Abbott makes me sick!”  And with that we had a chuckle, as many in soapland are also sick over Victor with Sharon!  So, we say, isn’t that the pot calling the kettle black?

On the heels of that, the promo reveals Jack proposing to Nikki!  Then, evil Ricky continues his plots, but who else will he destroy? And then Christine and Danny come home to Genoa City, when Y&R welcomes back Lauralee Bell and Michael Damian for some guest arcs!. But, where will that all lead?

Watch the promo after the jump, and let us know your thoughts about all of this!  We know you have some!

On-Air On-Soaps

You can find The Satin Lounge on the Internet with a new show every Tuesday night.  And tonight, May 15th from 7-9PMPST/10PM-12AMEST, Michael will talk with Kia about the latest in the world of daytime soaps, the portrayal of LGBT characters on daytime television, and so much more!

The Satin Lounge is a 2-hour weekly internet radio show that gives a platform to the LGBT community for celebrating love without discrimination or exclusion.  The Pillow Talk segment features movers and shakers within the entertainment industry with thought-provoking interviews and chat.  And throughout the show, Kia Rene plays a hot playlist of romantic tunes that resonate with the listening audience!

To listen to the show live click here!  Or, visit the show website at www.satinlounge.com

Courtesy/EW.com

At the ABC Upfronts presentation today in New York,  the network will announce and reveal their fall line-up to advertisers.  For nighttime soap fans there is one interesting change.

The hit series, Revenge which presently airs on Wednesday nights at 10PM EST/PST will move to Desperate Housewives slot of the past eight seasons,  Sunday Nights at 9PM.  Revenge’s  new lead-in will now be the hit series, Once Upon A Time.

However, the new Connie Britton and Jonathan Jackson nightttime sudser, Nashville will debut in Revenge’s current slot of Wednesday nights at 10PM EST/PST.   Nashville’s lead-in will be the new series, Neighbors, which focuses on the residents of the community of Hidden Hills.

Are you looking forward to the second season of Revenge and Jonathan Jackson’s new starring vehicle, Nashville? Let us know!

Photo Credit: Kathy Hutchins

Today is a red-letter day for fans who have been following Will Horton’s coming out storyline played by Daytime Emmy nominee, Chandler Massey (Will).   After months of not knowing when the other shoe would drop, Will finally blurts out that he is gay to his parents, Lucas and Sami in key scenes on today’s episode of Days of our Lives!

On-Air On-Soaps caught up with Chandler and his on-screen mom, Alison Sweeney (Sami) at last week’s An Evening with Days of our Lives Paley Center for Media event honoring the success of the soap in telling this coming of age story, and its record fifteen Daytime Emmy nominations.    Here is what the duo had to say about the upcoming interactions, playing these key scenes, and more! Then,  read below NBC executive Bruce Evans comments to the crowd in attendance on the future of Will’s story!

Photo Credit: Kathy Hutchins

Chandler on this week in Will’s life when he drops the bombshell on his parents:  “Yes, that finally plays out! The thing I like about this week’s scenes is there is some nice Will and Lucas stuff.  Because of Sami’s reaction, Lucas kind of has to step up and be in the one to tell Will that they still love him, even though Sami has walked out.  I think that is great because Will and Lucas really have not had a lot of moments since Lucas came back to Salem.  And the scenes that they have had, there was not a real sense of a father/son bond.  I think that is appropriate and it was intentional on Bryan Dattilo (Lucas) and my part. You know, Lucas has been gone for years in Hong Kong, during the years that Will has changed the most.  So it’s not that just that it is awkward or uncomfortable.  It’s just that there is a distance that they have to bridge. They can’t exactly pick up where they left off, because Lucas has also changed and so has Will.  There will be some big Sami and Will scenes too. There are a couple of them coming out and they are pretty amazing!”

Alison on the episode where Sami learns the truth about her son being gay. “I am so excited for everyone to see the show.  Sami does not have a great reaction which is something you may have seen so far.   But I think, at the same time, it’s a classic or perfect way Sami would react.  Bottom line is she is like, “What did I do?” And then, I had this great woman say to me at the Outfest Days of our Lives Coming Out Celebration panel that mother’s do feel this way.  I thought that was a great.  She put her blessing on it and that is the thing that I think the writer’s did.  They acknowledged that everyone came at it from a different perspective. I feel that as actors, our job at the heart of it is to portray someone’s real feelings and their emotional heart.

Chandler on if he is concerned that the new DAYS writing regime headed up by Gary Tomlin, Chris Whitesell and Lorraine Broderick, will make a wrong turn in Will’s story:  “Gary Tomlin was the executive producer at DAYS when I first came on the show. I cannot express how much I loved Marlene and Darrell’s writing and how they told Will’s coming out story.   But also, I first found out that Will is going to come out when I was approached by Gary.   He was the first one to tell me the plan.  I know that the new writing team will tell a story that is just as touching, hopefully.”

Alison on being part of this important storyline, and working at DAYS now with the new head writing team, after all the trials and tribulations Sami has encountered, endured, or brought upon herself over the years.  “I never thought I would be in this position with the show.  When I first started on DAYS, I thought I was going to be playing the kid where you are trotted out during the summer.  I  really had no idea how this was going to unfold and I am super excited.   I know that right now I am super excited to read the next script. ”

Chandler on the fact that actor, Brent Daugherty has shot some scenes that involve Will’s storyline:  “ Yes.  More gay characters which is good!  We are keeping it alive! (Laughs) That is always nice to have a new character come in and do a couple of episodes.  Maybe Will might have a date? Or, maybe Sonny might have one?  We shall see.”

Bruce Evans, the executive at NBC who oversees Days of our Lives addressed concerns from those in attendance at the Paley Center,  as to the future of Will’s coming out story, “Let me assure we are not backing down from telling this story. We wouldn’t have gone there if we didn’t think it had real value, and boy, has Chandler Massey just batted it out of the park. Certainly, we care about fan reaction and things that are written.  But we also have to stay the course. Fans have various favorites, and they want you to pull to them. If we tried to satisfy everyone, we wouldn’t have a show.”

So soapers, after our preview, make sure to watch the scenes where Will coming out to his parents on DAYS! What do you think of Bruce Evans comments assuring that Will’s story will continue?  Let us know your thoughts!

Photo Credit: Steven Bergman

Bad news for soap fans who were clamoring to see Susan Lucci in a new soapy role!  ABC has decided not to pick up Devious Maids, Marc Cherry’s follow up nighttime sudser to Desperate Housewives!  Thus, Susan Lucci who was to play a comedic turn as Genevieve Delacourt will not get the opportunity to bring the character to life in a series format.

Another primetime soap opera pilot also bit the dust that we have been reporting on.   ABC’s Americana, the high-fashion industry soap,  reminiscent of the premise of The Bold and the Beautiful,  was also canned.

The two primetime soaps that did make the fall line-up, one of which we previously reported, are  Jonathan Jackson’s Nashville which also stars Connie Britton and Hayden Panettiere, and Red Widow which is a mob series soap opera! (GH anyone?)

Red Widow is from Twilight screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg, and is the saga of a woman played by Radha Mitchell, who must take her slain husband’s place in a crime syndicate, to both avenge his death and maintain her family’s lavish lifestyle.   Deadline.com delivered all the news of what new shows will launch on ABC this fall.

So what do you think about Devious Maids getting the axe? Are you interested in any of the other new primetime soaps from ABC?  Let us know!

Courtesy/ABC

Last night’s series finale of ABC’s Desperate Housewives was the highest rated program on Sunday night!

The final installments of the life of the ladies of Wisteria Lane brought in 11.1 million viewers!  That’s less than half the number the show averaged in its early glory days, but 15%-20% more than it had been averaging this season.  The finale topped Survivor: One World as the most watched program yesterday.